Who is the worthiest of them all?

Abstract

Here I consider the sophism, man is the worthiest of creatures', as dealt with by medieval philosophers like William of Sherwood, Aquinas, Ockham, and Burleigh. This sophism posed great challenges for medieval supposition theory, as in it man' appears to have neither the usual personal nor simple supposition. I show how it came to figure prominently in the debate of Ockham and Burleigh over universals. I conclude that Burleigh wins the battle with Ockham, but that Ockham's approach, if emended, wins the war.